Wind power plant having an adjustable power reserve转让专利
申请号 : US13390031
文献号 : US09366229B2
文献日 : 2016-06-14
发明人 : Thomas Krueger
申请人 : Thomas Krueger
摘要 :
权利要求 :
The invention claimed is:
说明书 :
This application is a national stage application under 35 USC 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2010/004931, filed Aug. 12, 2010 which claims the priority of German Patent Application No. 10 2009 037 239.3, filed Aug. 12, 2009, the contents of which prior applications are incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a wind energy installation having a generator, which is driven by a rotor, for producing electrical power. To be more precise, the invention relates to a wind energy installation having a rotor, which has variable-pitch blades and whose pitch angle is controlled by a wind energy installation controller. In this case, the controller determines the pitch angle to be set as a function of an operating point of the wind energy installation and an applied input signal for a power reserve to be maintained.
As wind energy installations become increasingly widely used, they are increasingly also used to regulate and protect the power transmission grid. The range of objects of the wind energy installations is therefore no longer restricted just to simple production of electrical energy, but is extended to the provision of so-called system services, which the grid operators require in order to maintain stable grid operation. In addition to feeding reactive power, these system services also include the provision of a real-power reserve (so-called regulation reserve). If the power consumption in a grid system exceeds the power production, then the grid frequency falls; conversely, the grid frequency rises when the power fed in exceeds the power consumed. Since frequency changes such as these are undesirable, their occurrence is reacted to by feeding in additional power (if the frequency is low) or reducing the power fed in (if the frequency is high). In order to allow a quick reaction here, even at short notice, appropriate power-station capacities must continuously be kept available (so-called second reserve). This is supplemented by power-station capacities which can be brought on line quickly when required (so-called minutes reserve). The setting up and operation of these power stations is very expensive (particularly in the second reserve area). Particularly in the case of grid systems where a relatively large number of wind energy installations feed power in, in addition to conventional power stations, there is therefore also a requirement for the wind energy installations to be used to provide the regulation reserve. One particular difficulty in this case is that, although wind energy installations can reduce their power output (DE 100 22 974 A1), it is not easily possible to increase their power—in contrast to conventional power stations—since the maximum available power is restricted by the available wind, and therefore fluctuates stochastically.
In order nevertheless to also allow wind energy installations to be used to provide regulation power, various approaches have become known in the prior art. In one widely used approach, use is made of the fact that wind energy installations are normally combined to form wind farms. Here, a wind energy installation (reference installation) is operated with the full power provided by the respective wind conditions, and the electrical power produced by it is used as a reference for the other wind energy installations in the farm. Depending on the desired power reserve, these other installations are then operated on a restricted basis, thus allowing additional power to be mobilized quickly when required, by removing the restriction. This quite simple concept in principle works, but has the disadvantage that discrepancies in the maximum power capability between the individual wind energy installations in the wind farm are not taken into account by the conditions found at the reference installation. There is therefore no guarantee that the desired regulation power will also actually be available, and in fact this is random.
It is also known for an anemometer to be used to measure the actually prevailing wind speed, and for the power available from this wind to be determined on the basis of a characteristic determined for the respective wind energy installation (DE 10 2007 036 446 A1). This value represents the available power, from which a certain amount is subtracted as the power to be kept in reserve (regulation power). The value which then results is set as a modified power nominal value by the operation controller for the wind energy installation. One advantage of the method is high transparency in its own right, but it has the disadvantage that errors in the measurement of the wind speed are passed through in their entirety to the result. This has a particularly serious effect, because the measurement of the wind speed at the wind energy installation by means of an anemometer arranged on the nacelle is known to be imprecise. Because of this, instabilities may occur, particularly when the discrepancies accumulate over a relatively long time period. This applies in particular to the secondary regulation, since this relates to a longer time period than the rapid primary regulation (also referred to as the second reserve).
It is also known for the kinetic energy stored in the rotor to be used for rapid mobilization of additional power. This is done by producing more electrical power than is provided per se by the rotor in the given wind conditions, by increasing the generator torque. This admittedly makes it possible to mobilize additional power very quickly, virtually independently of the currently prevailing wind conditions, but this is at the expense of a falling rotor rotation speed, and can therefore be carried out only over a short time period. The use of this method is therefore restricted to the primary regulation area.
It is also known for wind energy installations not to be operated with values defined per se by the operation controller for the respective operating point, in particular for the pitch angle, but in this case to reduce them by a safety margin (Prillwitz, F. et al.: Primärregelung mit Windkraftanlagen [Primary regulation with wind power installations], ETG-Workshop “Neue dezentrale Versorgungsstrukturen” [New decentralized supply structures], 19-20 Feb. 2003, Frankfurt am Main). With respect to the pitch angle, this means that the installation is operated with a pitch angle reduced by a fixed amount (safety margin). Since the installation therefore does not run with the optimum pitch angle, this results in a power reserve which can be mobilized by setting the pitch angle to the optimum value. One disadvantage of the method is that, because the pitch angle is reduced statically by a fixed amount, different power reserves result, depending on the installation operating point. While this may still be acceptable for the primary regulation in the seconds area (since the operating point normally does not vary or varies only slightly over a few seconds), a response such as this is significantly disadvantageous for the secondary regulation, which relates to a longer time period.
Against the background of the most recently cited prior art, the invention is based on the object of improving the provision of regulation power for a wind energy installation of the type mentioned initially, while in particular avoiding instabilities.
The solution according to the invention resides in the features as broadly described herein. Advantageous developments are the subject matter of the detailed embodiments described below.
In the case of a wind energy installation having a generator, which is driven by a rotor, for producing electrical power and having a controller which has a pitch module for adjusting a pitch angle of blades of the rotor, and with the controller having an input for a power reserve to be maintained and determining a nominal pitch angle as a function of an operating point of the wind energy installation, according to the invention, a secondary pitch regulator is provided, which comprises a detector for an available power and a dynamic offset module, with input signals for the available power reserve, which is determined by the detector, the required power reserve and the electrical power produced being applied to the dynamic offset module, and the dynamic offset module being designed to determine a value for a pitch angle offset, and an activation element also being provided, which varies the nominal pitch angle by the pitch angle offset.
The essence of the invention is the idea of defining a value for the available power and of using this for the calculation of a variable pitch angle offset—to be more precise using the difference from the actually produced power. This link, in particular the variability of the pitch angle offset, allows the offset required for the desired regulation power to be determined taking account of the present operating point of the wind energy installation. This allows the pitch angle offset to be optimally matched with the respective operating conditions of the wind energy installation. This optimized matching reliably avoids the inherent disadvantage of a static offset, specifically that it has to be chosen to be unnecessarily large in order to be sufficient for each operating choice. Overall, therefore, this results in optimum utilization of the power of the wind energy installation.
A further advantage of the invention is the high regulation stability. Surprisingly, it has been found that although the regulation is now only indirect (specifically via the offset of the pitch angle) as a result of the action on the pitch angle, instead of direct variation of the required nominal power, measurement errors and measurement inaccuracies in the input signals (in particular resulting from unavoidable measured value noise) have a much lesser effect, however, than when the power is directly preset, as known from the prior art. The regulation of the power reserve is therefore more stable and, because the actuation activity of the pitch drive is reduced owing to the reduced influence of the noise, it is also more protective in operation. Nevertheless, the regulation is sufficiently fast, despite this indirectness. This applies in particular to use as secondary regulation, which until now was highly problematic for wind energy installations.—Finally, it should also be noted that the required additional complexity is low. The required regulators and detectors can be implemented with little complexity in the operation controller and, because of the protective indirect regulation, the actuating drive for the pitch angle does not need to be additionally reinforced.
A wind estimation module is preferably provided for the detector and is designed to determine the available power by means of a model on the basis of the estimated wind speed. A model-based estimate of the wind speed such as this avoids inaccuracies and disturbances, such as those which are included in a real measurement by means of an anemometer. Surprisingly, it has been found that the data obtained is of considerably higher quality for determination of the available power, in particular because its noise spectrum is very much reduced in comparison to real measured values. Continuing this idea, a determination element for the actually produced power is preferably designed such that it is likewise model-based. This makes it possible to also achieve the same advantages with respect to the actually produced power. According to a further aspect, it is particularly preferable to use the same model as the basis for both the estimation of the available power and for the actually produced power. In particular, this offers the advantage that certain model errors (which are virtually unavoidable because of the simplifications required for the model) partially cancel one another out. This therefore results in a form of common-mode suppression, as a result of which the overall modeling has considerably better long-term stability. This also makes it possible to manage with relatively simple models, thus making it possible to avoid the difficulties, in particular stability problems, which frequently occur with complex models.
The use of a closed formula has been found to provide expedient modeling, with the total power being determined from the overall efficiency, the air density, the rotor circle area, the high running speed and the pitch angle, taking account of the third power of the estimated wind speed. A closed formula such as this allows accurate calculation without recursions. Alternatively, however, it is also possible to provide a look-up table (LUT). In particular, this offers the advantage of a high processing rate.
Expediently, the dynamic offset module comprises an I regulator. This offers the advantage of high steady-state accuracy. Any noise in the input signals is highly damped thanks to the integration, thus correspondingly protecting the actuating drive for the pitch angle. Thanks to the concept according to the invention of indirect control via the pitch angle, an I regulator such as this is also sufficiently fast that there is no need for a P element. However, the possibility of providing the regulator with an additional P component and D component should not be precluded.
In a wind farm having a plurality of wind energy installations, at least one of which has the determination of the regulation power according to the invention, it is expedient for this determination to be carried out by the farm master. This has the advantage of central processing, which is advantageous particularly when a plurality of wind energy installations are supplied with corresponding values for the regulation power. A balance module is expediently provided for this purpose in the farm master. This is designed to distribute the total regulation power required by the wind farm between the individual wind energy installations. For this purpose, the balance module preferably has a weighting unit, which is designed to provide the proportion of the respective wind energy installation on the basis of the rating of the individual wind energy installation.
However, it is also possible to design the balance module to operate individual wind energy installations in the wind farm in a coasting mode, and for these to be used for the regulation power. In this case, a coasting mode means that, although a wind energy installation is rotating, it does not produce any real power, or only a very small amount (a power of ten less than the others). These wind energy installations are then used for the regulation reserve, since the power actually demanded from them can be greatly increased. This concept is particularly advantageous when very different wind conditions occur across the farm, in a wind farm, the result of which is that wind energy installations in weak wind zones can be used well to provide the regulation reserve and, in the process, reductions in the actually produced real power during normal operation can be minimized. However, in order to unify the load, it is also possible for the regulation power to be distributed on the basis of the availability of the installations.
The invention will be explained in the following text with reference to the attached drawing, in which one advantageous exemplary embodiment is illustrated, and in which:
A wind energy installation 1 according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention comprises a tower 10 at whose upper end a nacelle 11 is arranged such that it can pivot in the azimuth direction. A wind rotor 2 is arranged such that it can rotate on an end face of the nacelle 11. Via a rotor shaft, this wind rotor 2 drives a generator 13, which converts the mechanical power produced by the rotor 2 to electrical power. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the generator 13 is in the form of a doubly-fed asynchronous machine, which is connected via a stator directly to a connecting line 15, and by its rotor via a converter 14 indirectly to the connecting line 15. The connecting line 15 leads to an installation transformer 16, which is preferably arranged in the area of the foot of the tower 10. The installation transformer 16 is connected to a power transmission grid system, with this generally being an internal grid system for a wind farm. An operation controller 3 is furthermore arranged in the nacelle 11 and is designed to monitor and control the entire operation of the wind energy installation. This comprises a pitch module 31, which is designed to control a pitch angle (Θ) of the rotor blades 21 of the wind rotor 2. For this purpose, the pitch module 31 interacts with a pitch system 22 which is arranged in the hub of the wind rotor 2. It comprises a regulation device for adjustment of the pitch angle, which is predetermined by the pitch module 31, by means of a pitch drive (not illustrated), which varies the pitch angle θ of the rotor blades 21.
The operation controller 3 together with the pitch module 31 is designed to in each case adjust the pitch angle θ so as to create an optimum value for the so-called tip speed ratio λ (the ratio of the blade tip speed to the wind speed). This makes it possible to achieve a maximum energy yield from the wind rotor 2 in the respective wind conditions. The value for the optimum tip speed ratio λopt is made available by the operation controller 3 as a parameter for the pitch module 31.
The design and method of operation of the controller 3 together with the pitch module 31 will be explained in more detail in the following text with reference to the schematic illustration in
The basic concept with the presetting of the optimum pitch angle to the pitch regulator 23, which in turn adjusts the rotor blades 21 via an actuating drive 24, has been adopted in the exemplary embodiment of the invention as illustrated in
where η represents the overall efficiency, ρ the air density, A the rotor circle area, λ the tip speed ratio and θopt the optimum blade setting angle, and the value vE represents the estimated wind speed, as an input parameter for the model 45. On the basis of a model-based estimated value such as this, the detector 43 calculates a value for the available power PV, outputs this at its output, and applies it to an input of the secondary controller 44.
The determination module for the actually produced power 42 determines the power which is actually produced and output by the generator/rotor system 13, 14. In the simplest case, sensors for the voltage and current 17, 18 are arranged for this purpose on the connecting line 15, and their values are connected to the determination element 42. The determination element 42 carries out a multiplication and uses this to determine the actually produced power from PR. This simple case using the sensors 17, 18 is illustrated by dotted lines in
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the actually produced power PR can be determined by reference to the value provided by the wind estimation module 41 for the estimated wind speed vE. For this purpose, the determination element likewise has a model 47 of the wind energy installation for the actually produced power 42. The model 47 is preferably designed in a corresponding manner to the model 45 for the detector 43. Furthermore, a value for the actually set pitch angle θR (see the dashed lines in
where PR is the actually produced power and θR is the actually set blade angle. It is also possible to determine the actually produced power PR using sensors or data from the operation controller 3.
The actually output power PR determined in this way is applied via the output of the determination element 42 to an input of the secondary controller 44. A value for the magnitude of the power reserve PD to be maintained is applied to a further input of the secondary controller 44. The secondary controller 44 in the illustrated exemplary embodiment has an input filter 48 and a regulation core 49. The two values for the actually produced power PR and the available power PV are supplied as input signals to the input filter 48. The input filter 48 uses these to determine a difference value for the excess power PB, and compares this with the applied value for the required reserve power PD. The input filter determines therefrom a value for a power discrepancy PΔ, as an output signal. The value is applied as an input variable for the input filter 48 to the actual regulation core. The regulation core is designed to determine a value for a pitch error angle ΘΔ from this value. This value is output from the secondary controller 44, and is added, with the correct mathematical sign, via an addition element 40 to the value for the optimum pitch angle θopt supplied by the operation controller. This results in a modified value for the required pitch angle, which is applied as an input value to the pitch regulator 23, which is known per se.
Actually available reserve power can be calculated from the values, as determined by the determination element on the basis of the estimated wind speed, for the available power and the actually produced power as a difference, and is compared with the required power reserve (for example that required by the grid operator). If there is a discrepancy here, then the regulation core 49 of the secondary controller 44 produces an additional pitch angle ΘΔ, which is added to the optimum pitch angle θopt supplied by the operation controller. The actuating drive 24 of the pitch system 22 sets this new setting angle, thus correspondingly changing the actually produced power. The control loop is thus closed.
It has been proven for the regulator contained in the regulation core 49 of the secondary controller 44 to preferably be in the form of a pure integral regulator. This results in very good steady-state accuracy, in which case it has surprisingly been found that the speed which can be achieved in this way is also sufficiently high. The invention has identified that, despite the use of a pure integral regulator, the stability can also be guaranteed since, because of the use of an estimated value for the wind speed, the determination elements for the actually produced and available power are decoupled from otherwise unavoidable measurement noise to such an extent that the integral regulator can be used without any risk of stability loss. It should be noted that the regulator may also be formed in a different manner, for example in the form of a PI or PID regulator, or else a state regulator.
For the sake of completeness, it should also be noted that the signal for the required power reserve PD is also fed into the operation controller, in order to reduce the power nominal value there by that value. This is known per se, and therefore does not need to be explained any further.
The effect of the invention will be explained in the following text with reference to
Initially, the required power reserve is 200 kW. In order to make this available, an angle of +4° is chosen for the setting angle Θ of the rotor blades 21, rather than the optimum angle of −1°. Approximately 850 kW of electrical power is therefore actually produced in the stated conditions. The reduction in the required power reserve to 0 kW, starting at the time T=5 ms, results in the blade setting angle Θ being reduced at the maximum rate (1°/s) of the actuating drive 24, until the optimum pitch angle θopt of −1° is finally reached. Because of the finite pitch adjustment rate, a reserve power is still available for a certain time (about 3 s), without this being required (see the dashed line in
As can be seen from the graphs, the regulation with respect to the pitch angle has a highly harmonic profile and is free of overshoots and of long-lasting operations which involve material wear. In particular, there are no instabilities. The invention therefore offers the advantage that a power reserve in accordance with the requirements can be provided by relatively simple means, and in particular without the need for any additional hardware. The wind energy installation can therefore be used for system services, in particular for secondary regulation, in the grid system. The solution according to the invention is simple and can be implemented locally on the wind energy installation, with only a simple actuating signal being required from a grid control center or from the farm master. As can be seen from the illustration in
The invention is illustrated in the embodiment shown in
The farm master 5 may additionally also comprise a static module 58 and a signal input 57. If a signal for frequency regulation f-Ctrl is applied to the signal input, a predeterminable reserve power PDP is activated for the wind energy installations. The static module 58 is used to store a function by means of which power reductions or increases in the wind farm are intended to be used to react to discrepancies between the actual frequency fi and the nominal frequency fs, modifying the power preset and/or the preset of the reserve power, corresponding to the function, to the wind energy installations 1.